Your chance to join the "consultation"

Apparently the SAMDEV plan has been under "consultation" since the 1st March and yet there have been no public notices, no letters to residents and nothing in the local library. In fact unless you knew where to look for it, and even this presumes you have access to the internet, you would be unable to view the plan never mind comment upon it. Given that there is a closing date of the 8th June time is ticking away quite quickly and up to now all you have been able to do as far as contributing to the "consultation" is concerned is fire angry emails to an anonymous address at the council.

But that all changed this morning! We now have an online questionnaire, only 24 days late....

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SC_SAMDev_preferred_options_consultation_Ellesmere

Of course this is still utterly useless to anyone who is not online which probably includes a good half of the residents of Ellesmere and anyway how would they even know about the plan.

Apparently the ever increasing shift to online consultations" is all about saving money, you can pretty much pin anything on "the cuts" it seems but frankly I find that a weak excuse. A couple of dozen posters would cost very little (*cough* compared to a final salary council pension *cough*) and I feel is the very least we should expect. So make some tea and fill out the questionnaire.....

The Land Swap

One element of this plan which is a little confusing is the proposed land swap which consists of a 5 meter strip of land on the boundary with the cemetery. Apparently some members of the burial committee met with the land owner at the field in question a couple of days ago to mark out their side of the deal. Markers were placed and everyone was apparently handshakes and smiles after the meeting which presumably means the burial board are going to support the plan as they feel they can get another row of Ellesmere residents (i.e) you and me into this strip. Its straight from Faust, or for the younger generation, The Simpsons episode where Homer sold his soul to the devil for a doughnut. In supporting this plan and accepting a 5 meter strip it ends once and for the debate over how to extend the Cemetery as there will be 22 houses in the way.

The curious thing is though it seems this strip of land has already been promised to someone else as the town council, according to the SAMDEV plan have decided to support the application on the basis that the strip of land in question goes to them for use as a footpath! Now I can pick holes in that idea till the cows come home because there is already access to the mere park at the bottom of the hill on both sides and nowhere to park in-between so in order to use the proposed path you would already have had to walk past one.

Surely you cannot use a strip of land 5 meters wide for both burial and as a footpath its just not that wide given the cemetery would need at least 4 meters for a plot with access to maintain it. This surely means that either the "doughnut" has been promised to both committees or the SAMDEV is wrong because the burial committee certainly looked like they knew what they had been promised.

The SAMDEV in detail

If you actually read the SAMDEV document you can pick out quite a few interesting oddities. Firstly the field adjacent to the conservation area in question is not currently within the development boundary as shown left. It seems that in return for a small strip of land to extend the Cemetery the town council has agreed to move the development boundary to include this field.

It seems fairly pointless to define a development boundary if you are going to move it!

I suppose the other question which needs to be looked at is whether its a right and proper way to decide planning applications on the basis of a land swap, Is it even legal? It just adds to the potential conflicts of interest involved in this plan.

The second statement regarding the plan for Ellesmere is bullet pointed:

• The adjacent Mere and the Llangollen branch of the Shropshire Union Canal attract significant numbers of visitors

It seems this has not been deemed significant enough to prevent the proposed development, surely if its been identified as a key attribute of the town we should be protecting it with this plan.

It must be said that of the 730 plots allocated in the SAMDEV it seems pointless to risk the most significant attribute of the town for a mere 22 houses. There is currently planning permission for nearly 400 houses on a brownfield site across town which is only just underway and will provide ample housing for some time to come and most of the other areas identified are perfectly sensible options. I would question the wisdom of the developments in the blue areas though, why build in places which you know are prone to flooding.

A "Preferred Place".... to build 22 houses

I think the Mere is one of my "Preferred Places": To sit and enjoy the peace, to walk with my children, to watch the sun go down and to spend time with friends in the summer. Apparently its also Shropshire County Councils "Preferred Place" to build 22 houses!

The noises and rumour has finally ended up on a piece of paper which confirms my worst fears but also gives everyone something to push against should they feel strongly about this development. The Shropshire SAMDEV - where do they think these things up, you might think we were in the US military or something - lists the area between Cremorne gardens and the Cemetery as "Preferred Place" ELL016 and can be seen on the following link;

http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/planningpolicy.nsf/viewAttachments/EWET-8S8EK3/$file/ellesmere-area-samdev-preferred-options.pdf

Apparently the Council dont really want us to write letters in response to this document, they would prefer people to use their online questionnaire, frankly whether its a good use of their resources or not I will be writing in on the following address policy@shropshire.gov.uk and in writing by snail mail.

In the bitterest twist of all, you might be interested to know who will be reading and answering those emails, I would hazard a guess that the central planning committee for Shropshire County Council will be looking at those which actually saves me a stamp because it means I can also write to the owner in the same envelope! Yes you read it correctly, the owner sits on the county planning committee - fact.

What a Shame

So the destruction begins, even before the planning application has been published (although it is now confirmed at 22 houses). The week before a TPO came into force to protect the trees bordering the conservation area the owner has sent in the contractors to do some light pruning.

The TPO came into force on the 2nd March (ref SC/00081/12) but whilst it was still coming off the printer at Shirehall the contractors were at work. This tree was designated as T2 at grid reference SJ 4033, 3523, it was an Oak and has been estimated by a local tree enthusiast as having stood for approximately 220 years given its 4.32m girth. This was not the work of a well meaning tree surgeon.

There has also been a significant amount of work done to a magnificent Cedar which has been designated T4 grid reference SJ 4037, 3530. There was no need for any of this work except to clear the way for development and I presume as a preemptive strike given that a TPO was due to come into force.

What I would dearly love to find out is whether the owner had an inkling a TPO was in the wind or not.... I feel an FOI request coming on.

The View From The Path

There has been a lot of clearing already on the field border, a cynic might suggest it was in anticipation of result favourable to the developer, and the field is now clearly visible from the path around the mere. If nothing else this gives walkers a chance to see exactly how overlooked they are likely to be if the planning permission is granted and houses are built so close to the path. I have taken a couple of pictures to illustrate the point with a little map to show where they have been taken from.

This is a view up the bank from the path around the nature reserve, you can just see the chimney from one of the houses on Swan Hill to the right. The field extends just above eye level here so although you dont really see the field itself, anything placed on it (like 20 odd houses) will be in a commanding position above the pathway.

This is another view from the path moving towards the children's play area, you can just see the earth works to the left where the trees have been removed from the border of the field and the cemetery. We will move on to that as a part of the next post, there has been a case of a TPO arriving literally a few days too late to save a 200 year old oak tree.

You can see in these 2 pictures how thin the woodland is at this point, there is absolutely no screening effect from the trees and anything on the other side of them will encroach on the feeling of being in the countryside.